1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adjustable curtain support, and more specifically relates to an adjustable shower curtain support arm for positionally controlling a shower curtain so as to prevent the inward movement of the curtain toward a bather.
2. Description of the Related Art
The tendency of a shower curtain, when in use., to move inward toward a bather is well known. This inward movement of a shower curtain is due, at least in part, to the draft or convection air current created by the very warm air on the inner side of the shower curtain, said warm air being heated by the warm water spraying from a shower head, and the relatively cooler air present on the outer side of the shower curtain.
Several attempts have been made to prevent the aforesaid inward movement of a shower curtain by retrofitting the curtain rod with a curtain support and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,520 (Tyconik, 1975) discloses a curtain support for holding the shower curtain away from a bather by means of four arm-like members extending downward and outward in a fan-like array from the curtain rod supporting the curtain. This arrangement has various disadvantages inasmuch as it requires the drilling of a hole in the curtain rod to place a set pin, the long fan-like support arms may present a hazard as a bather enters and exits the shower enclosure, and this design requires the simultaneous use of two hands of someone of above average height to remove the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,774,974 (Zaloga, 1955) discloses a curtain rod attachment for supporting a shower curtain and increasing the area enclosed by the shower curtain. This arrangement also has numerous disadvantages in that the thumbscrew device used to attach the support member to the curtain rod inevitably disfigures and damages the rod which is formed of a very thin-walled material, i.e., 1/32 inch (0.7937 cm) tube wall thickness, via the force applied to the curtain rod when the thumbscrew is tightened. This arrangement further requires the simultaneous use of two hands of someone of above average height to remove the device when a bather enters and exits the shower enclosure. U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,120 (Annand, 1991) discloses a shower curtain control device which appears to allow the curtain, which may comprise an inner liner and an outer curtain, to be slidably opened and closed with relative ease, but this arrangement has the disadvantage of being rather unwieldy and large in size. Furthermore, this device is held in a stationary operating position by means of a counter weight which interferes with and restricts the normal activities of bathers of above average height so as to be a nuisance, particularly when a plurality of such devices are used as recommended in the preferred embodiment.
All of the aforesaid devices are difficult to move aside with the shower curtain to allow access of a bather to the shower enclosure. Furthermore, all of the aforesaid devices are relatively large in size and substantial weight and suggest the use, at least in part, of metal in their construction, which increases the costs involved in manufacturing, shipping and handling said devices.